User blog:BeastMan14/Review: A Strong Cast And Style Helps "Brightburn" Overcome A Squandered Premise
As the era of the superhero film continues onward, we begin more and more efforts to keep the concept from becoming stale, often by choosing to deconstruct the tropes of the characters and subject them to new genres. Sometimes it works, giving us films such as the bittersweet neo-Western Logan, and sometimes it doesn't, giving us the immensely dour slugfest of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And Brightburn, an attempt to give a horror spin to the iconic Superman mythos, is fortunately part of the former. While it never quite delves into the idea of "Evil Superman" as well as it could, Brightburn still manages to be a creative, entertaining slasher movie with some compelling performances at it's center. The Cast A basic rule of horror films is that they effectively live and die by their cast. If it's not a likable group of characters, how are you supposed to care when bad things start happening to them? Fortunately, this is where Brightburn really shines. As a family unit slowly falling apart, the main trio of actors are excellent at making the characters feel like an actual family. In particular, Elizabeth Banks is the stand-out, selling a woman deep in denial about the truth of her adopted child with a mixture of warmth and sadness, and her chemistry with the more stoic David Denman makes the audience more understanding of their decision-making as the situation worsens. As their son, Jackson A Dunn gives a hopefully star-making turn as he makes a character utterly devoid of emotion or empathy deeply terrifying but ultimately tragic as he descends into villainy. Rounding out the surprisingly minimal cast is Meredith McNichol and the always charming Matt Jones as the aunt and uncle of the family, who are solid, if nothing to write home about, giving the film's few moments of comic relief that serve to alleviate an otherwise grim film. This is absolutely a film that could've died in the hands of a less talented cast but the ensemble does great work here. Score: 4 out of 5 The Story Written by Mark and David Gunn, brothers of James Gunn (whose name was all over this film in advertising despite being just a producer), Brightburn clocks in at an airtight 90 minutes, and while it's nice to see a release like this that isn't two hours, the film's premise struggles a bit when it's not really given the time it needs to develop due to a slow burn structure that takes a bit to get going. A dark spin on the classic story of Superman (alien baby crashlands on Earth and is adopted by a kindly couple) gives frustratingly little time, outside of a delightful sequence near the end, into delving into the implications of what that means or why Brandon (the aforementioned alien) even really goes bad in the first place. He simply finds out he's an alien, then starts killing his way through town. Perhaps with a bit more time, we could've gotten a better sense of Brandon's intentions or his inner conflict, especially since he mentions wanting to be good, but never does anything benevolent. Which is a shame, as the film's story of a couple being unable to reckon with their monstrous child is genuinely compelling, thanks to strong character work, even if it tends to overplay it's hand with foreshadowing, making the story somewhat predictable. Score: 2.5 out of 5 The Direction The second film from David Yarvoskey, another close associate of James Gunn, what Brightburn lacks in substance it more than makes up for with it's presentation, which expertly skewers Zack Snyder's style in Man of Steel and sets up some tense and frightening scares. The film's horror aspects are helped by it's unflinching brutality and well-done gore that reminds us exactly how dangerous the world's strongest being actually can be. (A particular highlight is either the aftermath of a character getting hit head-on by someone traveling the speed of a bullet or the close-up of the aftermath of a brutal car accident.) This film was made with a $6 million budget, and it's so cleverly presented that it at no point does it ever look it. Particular praise towards the work of cinematographer Michael Dallatorre, who shrouds the film's scariest sequences in darkness and long shots, making scenes and concepts that could've been goofy into something much more unnerving. Brandon's costume, for instance, could've looked dumpy but is instead terrifying as we rarely see it in full lighting. Another strong point is the score by Timothy Williams, which both riffs on the Zimmer score prevalent in the Snyderverse and gives it's horror spin, playing with tension and giving off a general sense of unease during the film's quieter moments. Score: 4 out of 5 Final Verdict While it never quite utilizes it's fascinating premise to it's fullest effect, Brightburn is still a fun little horror film that's worth recommending for anyone that would like to see a different spin on superheroes or anyone that just wants to have a spooky time at the movies. Score: 70% Hypothetical Ballot Spots: *Best Actress: Elizabeth Banks *Best Supporting Actor: Jackson A. Dunn *Best Cinematography *Best Original Score Category:Blog posts Category:Reviews Category:2019 Reviews